"It's all about the beauty." ELKE VON FREUDENBERG

The Makeup Show: Part III

White Lindsay was covering the product part of the Makeup Show, Katie and Susan were covering the seminars for me.. to pick up the latest makeup tips of the pros… read on… elke

From Katie:

The Makeup Show New York was quite a whirlwind this year as I had the opportunity not only to work the show as a vendor with Face Atelier the first day but also to browse the show as an attendee on the next.

As a makeup artist, I’m a huge fan of Face Atelier’s foundations. I use them on almost everyone. However working at the booth I learned about a few new products that are my new obsessions.

1) Melt – This makeup remover will take ANYTHING off, and I do mean ANYTHING. Write with a permanent marker on your hand, drop a bit of this onto a cotton pad, and it swipes the writing right off. Miracle serum! It’s great to use to remove residue from bright red lipstick that’s all the rage for this season.

2) Transforming Gel – There are a lot of products out there that you can use to make a powder into a liquid, but I haven’t seen one that compares to this. I mixed a very small amount of it with one of the eyeshadows and wore it on my hand for 7 hours. It didn’t budge. I took my thumb and rubbed on the area I applied it to with a lot of pressure, and it still didn’t budge. Nevermind the fact it didn’t crease during that time, either. Staying power extraordinaire! The other thing that makes this product different from others is that it’s a gel instead of a liquid, so when you mix it with a loose powder you get more of a paste then you would if you simply used a makeup brush dipped in water.

3) Lip Putty – My personal favorite. I know a lot of makeup artists use Rosebud Salve (which I love) to moisturize their clients’ lips, but I always find that when I try to use a lip liner over Rosebud Salve then I lose the color of the liner completely. The Lip Putty from Face Atelier works not only as a moisturizer but to fill in the cracks of the lips. Because it’s not as emollient as other lip moisturizers, it stays longer, AND I can use liner over it with excellent color payoff. This is a new must-have staple in my kit.

Seeing Joanna Schlip present a private workshop was probably the highlight of The Makeup Show for me in 2008. Not only is she gutsy (she moved to Paris and walked into French Vogue at the age of 18 without a portfolio) and world traveled (she spent 15 years in Europe working in fashion and advertising), but she’s also a phenomenal makeup artist.

The one thing that Joanna could not stress enough to the workshop is how long the makeup must last. According to Joanna, typically a makeup artist will start a celebrity’s makeup at 10 o’clock in the morning, so the makeup that you do must last at least 10 hours or more. The celebrity has to sit through hair, makeup, wardrobe, and then wait in the limo line for the Red Carpet, and then walk the carpet for 3 hours! After that, if the celeb is nominated for a big award, her makeup will be seen on TV for the entire world to see. Clearly, this must be makeup that lasts.

Some tips that Joanna suggested to the workshop:

1) Always have extras of what products you use or even what you might use because you will have to give the products to the celebrity. Be sure to give her full size products, not just sample sizes. This way she has the products for touch-ups. Blotting papers are good to give her, as well as a powder puff loaded up with powder.

2) While prepping the skin, try to give a little massage (better yet, have your assistant give her a massage!) because she is sure to be stressed.

3) When applying foundation, match the face to the chest (as she will often be wearing a strapless gown) and be sure to apply foundation to the ears.

4) For eye makeup with longer staying power, use loose pigments. Pack on the color to make the wear ability last.

5) If you decide to do a darker lip on the celebrity, stain the lips first with Jell-O. Mix the Jell-O with a little water to create a paste and apply to her lips during the skin preparation stage before sending her to hair. Cherry works great for red, black cherry for burgundy, etc. Be sure to use sugar free because no one wants those extra calories!

Lastly the final high point of my time at The Makeup Show New York 2008 was in Jon Hennessey’s Camera Ready workshop. I’ve been lucky enough to sit in on one of his workshops before and find him to be outstanding. His work has led him to travel all over the world, doing fashion shows in every major fashion city. The list of designers he has worked for will break your heart. However, it’s impossible to be jealous of Jon Hennessey. It’s rare that you meet someone so kind and generous, a fact that is evident by his devotion to other artists. His agency Nobasura based in Vancouver, Canada, takes the time to help mold their artists and really focuses on developing strong careers. Jon speaks very passionately about it. Not only that, but he demonstrated a gorgeous makeup (done at the last Rodarte fashion show, no less) that just proves that he never fails to disappoint.

A few notable techniques Jon taught us in his workshop:

1) When applying foundation, use a brush that’s part synthetic, part real hair. Jon uses the one from MAC, the 187 Duo Fibre Brush. Apply in a circular motion as this prevents streaking lines that you might get if using a standard foundation brush. He says this brush is also great for cream blushes.

2) Use a matte pomade for grooming brows instead of a brow gel if you don’t want any shine.

3) A mini fan brush works wonders when applying mascara. It really allows you to get right up to the lash line and to “paint” coats both on top of and underneath the lashes. You can also work the mascara into the lashes by wiggling the brush back and forth just like you would with a mascara wand.

From Susan:

Cheryl Gushue “Perfecting Beauty” Workshop

Cheryl is a Toronto-based make up artist who has been in the fashion industry for over 14 years and she is currently the beauty consultant for L’oreal Paris. The goal of her workshop, was to focus on specific techniques to bring our work to the next level. Cheryl approaches make up artistry as a painter. She does not believe in “one formula to fit everyone”.

She begins her demonstration by stippling a very small amount of foundation in the center of the face, and over the brows with a dry sponge. She does not use any color correctors because she feels like they add excess product to the face. She does not apply any product underneath the eyes yet.

Choosing a color lighter than the model’s hair color, Cheryl fills in the ends of the brows with powder. She uses her fingers to apply MAC cream-colored base on the eyes (from lash line to crease). Next, she stipples the powder shadow with a small brush over the cream base, stopping before the eye crease. Using a clean brush, Cheryl blends the eye color out, following the natural shape of the eye. Next, she cleans up under the eye, and brushes concealer beneath the eye. She uses a small flat brush to apply shadow on the bottom lash line, and then connects the corners. She omits eyeliner, uses the ShuUemura lash curler, and GreatLashMascara on upper and lower lashes.

Cheryl uses a large brush to apply a matte bronzer (BobbieBrown #4) over the temples, forehead, and tops of the cheekbones. She sweeps blush onto the apples of the cheeks, and blends it upward toward the sides of the temples.

Cheryl often “directs” her model in order to achieve precise results. For example, when applying lip color, she asks the model to “smile, with no teeth showing” Other helpful techniques from Cheryl: “Make a legend of what is in your kit” Using color swatches on a piece of paper to label products according to their name, brand, and color, will help you keep track of what you are using.

Thank you ladies for covering the show for me and making me sooo wish I could have attended. But not to worry. There’s always next year. Elke